Christopher's Big News...

Christopher was approved to be put on the continuous blood glucose monitoring system for his diabetes. He has been on it for about a month now and it is making all the difference. It is a device that he wears all the time and it checks his blood sugar every 10 seconds and then takes an average of those results and sends the average number to his insulin pump every 5 minutes. Now he knows what his blood sugar is constantly. If he is going up or down really fast it will have 1 or 2 arrows beside the number too. This doesn't completely eliminate the need for finger pricks, but it greatly reduces them. The only drawback is the insertion of the device. It has a pretty big needle and it hurts, but then he gets to pull the needle out and just leave the plastic cannula inserted. He is pretty tough about it. Each sensor lasts about a week so he only has to change it once a week or so. The biggest positive is that we set alarms on it and if his blood sugar drops below 90 then an alarm goes off and if it goes above 240 then an alarm goes off. That way he knows to check his blood sugar right away. This device has greatly helped his blood sugars. You can imagine how easy it is for a kid to forget to bolus (give insulin through his pump) after he eats. He is anxious to get up and go play. Well, with this device, if that happens and his blood sugar rises above 240, his alarm will go off and alert him. What a blessing this has been. how thankful I am for technology and for these modern-day conveniences that make Christopher's life so much better and easier. I know that these devices are keeping him alive and helping to prolong his life and reduce complications. I still struggle with the fact that he has to endure this. I wish I could take this from him. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't let it slow him down and he is a trooper about it, but I know he hates it too. His insulin pump and his new sensor have changed things so much for the better, though! Hopefully, one day there will be a cure!! Until then, we wait and stand in awe of this amzing young man and how he endures this trial in his life so well!! What an incredible example of strenth and patience he is to me!!
p.s. When he gets home from school today I will see if he minds me taking a picture of his belly with his pump and sensor so you can see what it looks like. I'm sure he won't mind! :)
OK-the sensor is the whitething on (his) right side and the other round thing is his site for his pump. You can see his insulin pump right below it. Neither is very big, but they literally save his life!! Cool, huh?!